Egyptian Clothing: Pharoahs to Commoners

Egyptian clothing was made from locally-sourced materials—as were clothes from all ancient societies. Pastoral nomads created clothing from their livestock. AS one of the earliest agricultural societies, the ancient Egyptians wore light clothes made from linen. Linen is made from flax – a plant which was grown along the Nile. The picture to the right shows the flax growing process.

Once harvested, the flax was soaked in water until soft. The softened flax was then separated into fibres which were beaten before being spun into thread which was then woven into cloth.

Egyptian Clothing For Men

All men wore a wrap-round skirt that was tied at the waist with a belt. Sometimes the material was wrapped around the legs as well. The length of the skirt varied depending on the fashion of the time – in the time of the Old Kingdom they were short while in the Middle Kingdom they were calf length. During the New Kingdom period it was fashionable to wear a pleated garment.

Rich Egyptian men were able to afford the best quality linen which was very fine and almost see-through. Rich Egyptian men also wore as much jewellery as they could afford and decorated their clothes. They also wore headdresses for special occasions.

Egyptian Clothing For Women

Egyptian women wore full length straight dresses with one or two shoulder straps. During the New Kingdom period it became fashionable for dresses to be pleated or draped. The dresses worn by rich Egyptian women were made from fine transparent linen. Like the men, rich Egyptian women decorated their clothes and wore jewellery and headdresses.

Children

Ancient Egyptian children did not wear clothes until they were about six years old when they would wear the same clothes as men and women.

Footwear

The Ancient Egyptians went barefoot most of the time but wore sandals for special occasions or if their feet were likely to get hurt.

The sandals worn by the poor were made of woven papyrus or palm while those worn by the rich were made of leather.

The picture shows the various styles of sandals worn.

Jewelry

The Ancient Egyptians wore jewelry to show their wealth and also because they believed it made them more attractive to the Gods.